Scrimper Saver Wizard Saviour
by loverofeevee
Summary: There's lots of stories where Harry's independent and has lots of things to help him on his journey, but what if he decided he didn't want to be materialistic, having tones of books and whatnot? A little story about Harry the tight fisted saviour.
1. Chapter 1

Scrimper Saver Wizard Saviour

Harry had very little possessions to call his own…no, scratch that, Harry had NOTHING to call his own. The clothes he wore formerly belonged to Dudley, the food he ate was bought with Vernon's money, even his toothbrush came from a pack of four his aunt bought as a cheap holiday item, reluctantly handing him the pink one since no one else wanted it.

One would think that having no possessions would make Harry yearn for stuff of his own. Well, they'd be wrong.

By age of six everything Harry had could easily fit into a carrier bag, and that was the way he liked it. Why buy loads when you could gain access to most things for free? He had the library for books, free lunch and milk in school, and the play park wasn't that far away. Why bother with gaudy jewellery, expensive toys and flashy cars, what was the point?

But Harry did want to say that his clothes were his own, that the food he ate was bought with his own hard earned money. So not long after turning eight, he began to really earn his keep. On days where Vernon and Petunia just couldn't stand the sight of him, he spent mowing neighbourhood lawns and walking dogs for a few pounds. When he wasn't at school, doing homework or completing his numerous chores, he was washing windows for the elderly and pulling weeds for the disabled like that nice Mr Patterson down the street.

Harry also wanted to spend his cash wisely, none of those fancy robots with the shooting hand motion all the neighbourhood boys had, or sweets and crisps children are prone to buying or begging for. He really didn't need them, nor did he really want them. So he sat down in the cupboard under the stairs late one night with a borrowed notepad and pen, and the first thing he wrote down was to get his own stationary, to save him using something bought by his uncle, followed by something to hold his money in and something to eat and drink on the days the Dursleys decided not to feed him. He also wrote down a number of clothes, mainly underwear since he knew his relatives would get suspicious if he was seen with new clothes they hadn't bought him, and toiletries. Lastly, he realised he'd need something to put his stuff in, knowing his schoolbag, which he also needed to replace as it formerly belonged to Dudley, wouldn't hold all he wanted. His school clothes he didn't bother listing, as they were the only things that hadn't once belonged to Dudley, and he wouldn't need them forever. That and he quite enjoyed seeing his aunt's expression when she was forced to buy them, knowing that they at least had to look decent otherwise people would suspect. Things like jotters and schoolbooks the school provided so he was happy to continue to use them.

Other things like the rest of his clothes he would buy when he was older and more able to defend himself against the Dursleys if they gave him hassle for buying his own clothes. However one thing he needed immediately was a pair of his own shoes, Dudley's were weather worn and far too big for him and they hurt his feet. He was also going to get a cheap jacket that could fold into his bag, he knew it would be handy to have.

All in all his list amassed to a fair amount, with only tops, trousers and pyjamas to get when he was older

Pencil case/pencil/pen/rubber/sharpener/ruler/calculator

Bag for money

Food/drink

10 socks

10 pants

Shoes

Hat/scarf/gloves

Towel

Jacket

Toothbrush/toothpaste

Soap/shampoo/brush

Schoolbag/water bottle

Something to put them all in.

A few blocks down from the Dursley house was a really cheap shop that sold things for just a pound each. There, with fifty pounds well earned from his hard work of the last three weeks jingling in his pocket, Harry eagerly picked up a basket and filled it with items he needed, checking off his list as he went. A pack of four notepads, a calculator and a stationary set with pen, pencil, rubber, ruler and sharpener all inside a tin pencil case, in they went. A fold up blue jacket, ideal for rainy days and easy to hide away, perfect. Socks and pants in packs of two, they were desperately needed. A hat, scarf and pair of gloves, the entire set for a pound, in the basket. A pack of toothbrushes, some toothpaste, soap and a nice sized bottle of shampoo, sorted. And a good strong fold up shopping bag to put them all in, with room enough for more. In the bargain bin he found a purple coin purse and a brush for fifty pence each, happily adding them to his lot.

He debated for a little while over the food and drink section, before picking up three packs of different flavour juice cartons, three to a pack, and a small loaf of bread and some jam and chocolate spread. Then, upon thinking about it, he nipped round the corner and picked up a pack of cutlery, a pack of hand wipes (to clean the cutlery and of course his hands), a water bottle and some toilet roll, which would save him wasting any of his relative's precious money on such luxuries as tap water and their own pricey high brand loo roll (entirely unneeded, really they were only going to wipe their bum with it). At the last minute he decided to pick up a small sewing kit, that way he could make his things last longer by patching any damage. By the end he'd spent thirty two pounds, giving the lady behind the till the rather truthful excuse that he was learning about money and daily essentials. Packing everything into the shopping bag and Dudley's old school bag, and popping his leftover money in the purse, Harry left the store with people believing he was such a clever little boy for wanting to learn that stuff so early. They'd be shocked to know that he practically had to raise himself over the years.

A few doors down he was able to pick up a towel for five pounds, and a pair of shoes and school bag for six pounds each in the shop across the street. He had a single pound left in his purse by the end of his shopping spree, and unlike Dudley who would have used that money (along with the rest of it given the chance) to buy sweets, Harry kept it in his purse for a more sensible purchase once he had more to add to it.

Harry made his way back to the Dursleys in record time given that he was carrying a heavy bag, snuck in the door and hid his purchases in the furthest corner of his cupboard. The bag he chose to put his things in was a deep blue, and almost impossible to see in the gloom of the cupboard. Vernon couldn't fit in it, Petunia only ever went in for the cleaning supplies on the opposite side, and Dudley was at a stage where he was finding it hard to squeeze himself into the small space. Harry hoped they wouldn't discover the bag, and wished he knew of a way to carry it on him at all times without them seeing.

Hiding his toiletries from his relatives was easy, just tuck them under Dudley's oversized top each time he went to the bathroom. Hiding his new schoolbag and shoes was a bit harder, however the things he'd bought were quite similar to the stuff Dudley had (just less worn), and since his aunt and uncle rarely paid much attention to him, so long as he was doing what he was told, then he was able to pass them off as hand me downs.

So the years went on. Harry earned well and spent wisely, and apart from his glasses (something he knew would be really expensive to get) he could now claim everything he had was HIS and HIS alone. Any of his own clothes he grew out of he set up a small table in the park and sold them off cheaply, anything he couldn't sell he discarded into a clothes bank (making sure they were clean first, of course). He was quite happy with his lot in life.

And then that blasted letter came and mucked everything up.


	2. Chapter 2

'Welcome Harry, to Diagon Alley!'

Harry supposed he should be excited, but all he could see was pile upon pile of new stuff that his supposed new school demanded he get, and no way to know which he did not actually need until he did some research.

'Hey Hagrid, is there a library here?'

The giant man looked at him curiously.

'Can't say there is 'arry'.

Well darn, he could only hope that the bookshop allowed him to read before he bought. Or…

'Hogwarts, does it have a library?'

'Course it does 'arry! Biggest library in all of Britain!'

'And…if for example I forgot to buy one of the books in the list…would I find it at the library?'

'Sure you will, 'ogwarts has every book a student needs, right the way up to seventh year!'

Well that was some good news. Harry could check the books off his list immediately. The rest however…Sighing Harry followed his guardian up to a giant white building, his frustrated expression giving way to bewilderment at the funny looking creatures inside.

'Goblins 'arry. Clever as they come, Goblins, but not the most friendly of beasts, best staying close'.

Oh, alright then, so Goblins, nothing odd about that. Slightly odd that another race of creatures were responsible for wizard and witch's money, but who was he to argue.

'Vault six hundred and eighty seven. Key please'.

Wow…now that was a lot of money. Harry could only imagine what the school prices must be for him to have that much money in his trust vault. And apparantely this was indeed his trust vault, something about using it until being able to claim his family vault when he turned seventeen. Thinking about the family vault made Harry think about what, other than money, might be made available to him when he hit the right age. Groan! Well, he'll figure out that issue at a later date, right now he needed to figure out how to buy his school supplies without actually buying his school supplies. At least he didn't need the books any more.

'Might want to keep this a secret 'arry. Something for Dumbledore'.

Harry shrugged, he didn't really care about the small package. Just more baggage really, probably something expensive and entirely unneeded.

'Right then, let's get yer things!'

Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)

One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear

One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)

Wand

Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

Set of glass or crystal phials

Telescope

Set of brass scales

Urgh! Did he really need all this stuff?! Besides the wand (which would be super cool to learn how to use) what did he need with the rest, surely they had those things at school? He knew they had all the equipment available in primary school, and read that it was the same for high school (in preparation for his move there before he got the Hogwarts letter), and couldn't he just use what he had in the way of clothing? He would need to ask real nicely at each shop to see what he really really needed and what didn't need to be bought at all.

What he also really wanted to do is see exactly what magic was capable of. Could he find a way of getting his clothes to grow with him, and repair them if they got damaged? Could he hunt down a spell to let him absorb information without needing to actually buy the books? Could he make a potion to correct his eyesight so that he can stop using those hideous glasses? Or…or even better than all that put together, could he learn a shrinking spell so he can keep his things on him at all times?!

'Hey Hagrid, is there a shrinking spell and de-shrinking spell?'

'Sure there is, there's lots a useful spells you'll learn. Jes don't be using magic out of school, that's not allowed until yer old enough'.

So, he could shrink his stuff, but until he was the right age, probably seventeen, he wasn't allowed to use magic unless at school? How was he supposed to do summer homework if he wasn't allowed to do magic out of school?! Unless he didn't get summer homework at Hogwarts, but then surely they'd want students to practice!

Harry could bet that kids who lived in the magical world used magic outside of school. In fact their parents probably let them use it. He made a note to find a way to bypass that rule, it wasn't fair, but more still it was stopping him from having his possessions on him at all times without the Dursleys knowing.

But anyway, back to his school list.

'Do I really need to buy a cauldron of my own?'

The shop keeper was getting somewhat frazzled, he'd never come across a person with Harry's personality before. They'd already been over the need to buy the lad's own ingredients (Harry had relented), and his own tools to make potions (the shop keeper had relented except for the knife and a set of vials, always better to have your own knife to avoid cross contamination, and vials can be used several times as long as they were thoroughly cleaned). The man knew though that if the lad didn't buy at least one cauldron, then he'd wind up on the bad side of the potions professor.

'It is best lad, the school does provide cauldrons, but students not used to potions do tend to melt their cauldrons at first, and it's best to have your own otherwise the school would need to stock hundreds of cauldrons every year'.

Note to self, learn potions properly so he didn't melt a cauldron. Nevertheless Harry wasn't deterred.

'So magic can't be used to repair things?'

'Oh you can repair a melted cauldron, but only a certain amount of times before you can't use it any more'.

Definitely need to learn how to properly make potions.

'I live in the muggle world, how am I supposed to keep a cauldron in my room?'

A little amusement showing, the shop keeper nipped to a shelf and picked up a standard size cauldron.

'It's not too big lad, easily fitted into a trunk'.

Alright so he couldn't really argue that. Harry sighed.

'Alright, but just one'.

Now smiling the man handed Harry the cauldron and rang up the purchases. The lad was certainly tight fisted, but he also seemed sensible and intelligent. The shop keeper had no doubt that the lad would learn potions back to front to avoid melting a single cauldron, just so he could continue to use the one he'd bought.

'Ye sure ye don't want to buy the rest 'arry? Yev got the money for it'.

'It's not about the money, it's about buying things that I don't really need. Now where's the shop for clothing, I do need these robes, though I can't understand why magical people can't just wear the same clothes as non magical, but I don't see why I need a hat or a winter cloak. I've got a jacket and I've yet to see someone wearing the hat the list is telling me to buy'.

'Well it's jis fer the opening feast fer the first years 'arry'.

'So we don't need it for classes, just for the first day of the first year for the students. I'm sure I can find someone to lend me their old hat for the special occasion. Also, I didn't want to buy books, but if I want to know potions, then I'll need to find a book for it. Just potions though, from what I've been seeing and hearing I can just use the library for the rest'.

And with that Harry was led to Madam Malkin's, and proceeded to dictate to the woman exactly what he wanted when she tried to give him the full list worth of clothes. The only thing he relented with was the gloves, after finding out some plants and potions ingredients irritate the skin really badly, or worse burn the skin and everything underneath away.

After that it was an hour in the book shop for the best potions book he could find. What he left with was thick, but the shop keeper assured him that in the huge volume was everything he could possibly need to prepare and make potions, including safety tips and why certain ingredients react with one another. Of course, most of that hour was spent skim reading several books that he felt would help him settle into the magical world

And now he was ready for his trunk, though why he didn't get it first was beyond Harry. For that matter, why couldn't he have got his wand first?

Anyway.

'You've got the standard trunk, the deluxe with twice the size inside, and the super deluxe with four times the size'.

'The standard please'.

'Are you sure? A customer such as yourself the deluxe trunk would be better for all your storage needs'.

'Standard, thank you'.

'Not sure a standard would fit everything you require Mr Potter'.

What was it with his name getting people excited?! The Boy-Who-Lived indeed!

'Standard' Harry monotoned.

The shop owner sighed, but lifted down a standard trunk and rang up the purchase. Harry then proceeded to neatly organise everything he'd bought into the trunk, happily noting that the possessions at the Dursleys would easily be able to fit as well.

'Perfect'.

This was his life, and if he could work out how to do magic outside of school, and master the shrinking spell, then he could literarily hold his life in his hand. He could buy a belt and strap his trunk to it. Or he could just pop it in his pocket and look up a spell that makes sure it stays in his pocket, saves a belt.

'Alright 'arry, let's get your wand! Off you pop to that shop over there, and I'll be right back, I've got something I need to get'.

Harry must have spent hours (well in his head it felt like hours) in that dingy little shop trying wand after wand. He supposed it made sense, you would need a wand that matched you otherwise your magic would come out wonky, but still he was eleven, he didn't have that kind of patience!

Finally he got a wand that worked for him, and endured a short lecture about his wand being the brother to Voldemort's. Hadn't he just heard that there were only a few kinds of cores and woods used for a wand? Surely having a brother wand wasn't that rare? Sure it was a bit creepy to have a brother to the one that killed his parents, but he was certain the old man was just trying to sound spooky and mysterious. Just before he left, Harry thought it best to buy a holster, better to have an extra item than to break his wand by putting it into his back pocket.

Leaving the shop saw him face to face with a large white owl in a cage. Well she was such a sweet thing, but how in the world did Hagrid think she would survive at the Dursleys?! And that cage, she really didn't need it? He'd learned from Hagrid that magical owls were smarter than ordinary owls and could find their way anywhere just by following a magical signature. That and Harry knew enough about birds to know that a dinky cage like that would work far better for a canary than an owl. He told this to Hagrid, letting the owl out her prison where she fluttered onto his shoulder with a happy hoot, and bringing the cage back to the shop to see if he could get a little money back. Hagrid was very nice to give him a gift, but he really didn't have to spend so much on something Harry wouldn't need. The giant man did insist that Harry keep the galleon he got for the cage, since it was supposed to be part of the gift, and in place of the cage, Harry bought some owl treats. He'd learned enough woodwork skills (from numerous chores involving a hammer, saw and nails) that he could make a nice perch for her.

And thus Harry's life as a super cool wizard began.


	3. Chapter 3

'Hey, mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full'.

It took a bit of pestering to get Hagrid to tell him how exactly to get onto the platform. The giant man seemed to think Harry knew the way, or perhaps had assumed everyone knew and there wasn't any need to tell. Either way it took Harry a moment to figure out how to pass the barrier, and a few moments more to hunt down a seat. Thankfully he'd sent Hedwig, which was the name he'd chosen for his owl, on to fly to the school herself. It wouldn't be right keeping her cooped up in a stuffy train for all those hours, just as cruel as it would have been to keep her at the Dursleys (He'd asked her nicely, since she seemed intelligent, to camp out in the surrounding trees, and she appeared happy with the arrangement, coming down now and then to say hello). His trunk wasn't shrunken, since he couldn't do the magic to un-shrink it back at his relatives, but he was determined to learn it while on the train. It was a place Hagrid told him would be ok to practice magic, and he'd found and memorised the spell, and the counter spell, and wand movements at the book shop. However before he had a chance to try it, the red head pulled open the door.

Harry wasn't sure he believed the other boy, but what the hey it would be a boring trip without someone to talk to. He'd gone over that potions book several times since his shopping trip, as well as rearrange his things and buy a couple of new items he felt he would need (he realised a while back that he really didn't need pyjamas, so bought twenty pairs of boxers, allowing him to sell his nightclothes and put his pants into a clothes bank). He was set and ready to go.

'I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley'.

'Harry Potter'.

Harry fought the urge to groan as the red head's eyes went wide, he should have just given his first name.

'You're really THE Harry Potter?! Does that mean you have the…the scar?'

Stupid scar, stupid Voldemort for murdering his parents and causing so much chaos that the magical world went nuts when a baby killed him.

'Yes I have the scar, no I won't bother showing you it, you know what it looks like. So can you tell my anything about the magical world? I was raised muggle so I'm a bit out the loop'.

And thus came the almost two hour long discussion (somewhat one sided) about quidditch and Gryffindor and slimy Slytherins. He knew he should have just let the boy be annoyed at not seeing his scar and left it at that.

'Anything off the trolley dears?'

Harry didn't really have a sweet tooth, but he was interested in the chocolate frogs, so long as they weren't real frogs. The card inside though didn't interest him at all, and he was happy for Ron to take it, although the red head looked gobsmacked that he didn't want to collect chocolate frog cards. Gobsmacked turned into shocked horror when Harry, bored with the conversation, took out his potions book for a quick run through.

'No way! You actually like potions?! My brothers told me the professor's a greasy git who picks on Gryffindors!'

'I don't want to melt my cauldron, because if I melt it then I'll have to buy another, and if I need to buy another then I'll be forced to buy more than one and I really don't want to do that. The school provides cauldrons, so really I only need one, IF I learn how to make potions properly so as not to melt it' Harry explained idly, leafing through to double check ingredient properties. Thankfully he got information pretty easily, but he just wanted to be absolutely sure.

'But…but…You're really studying…BEFORE school?!'

Harry could see being friends with Ron might be a strain, he wasn't keen on chocolate frog cards, he had no interest in chess, and while flying sounded quite fun, he really didn't care about some quidditch match. He never bothered with football clubs in primary, partly because those were the clubs Dudley liked to get into (not for the exercise sake, but to help him bully people on the opposite team without getting into trouble), he figured it would be the same here.

'Yes, there's nothing wrong with that, plus if I get the hang of potions now then once I get to school I can work on the other classes via the library and take notes. That way I won't be questioned for having no material if I can't bring library books to classes.

Ron just sorta sat there, mouth hung open, like the thought of even CONSIDERING learning outside of a classroom was barmy. Deciding the conversation was over Harry decided to return to his shrinking spell, drawing his wand and aiming it at his trunk.

'Reducio!'

It didn't work, he didn't think it would, after all it was his first try. He went over it a few times in his head, each time performing the wand motions. Feeling that he'd corrected his mistake, he tried again, and again, and again, and about five more times before something happened.

'Wicked!'

Beaming Harry picked up his matchbox trunk and examined it. It could still open, although he was careful his things didn't fall out. He picked up the tiniest of cauldrons and grinned, placing it back inside and closing the lid.

'Alright, let's try the un-shrink spell. Engorgio!'

About twenty more times and his trunk returned to normal size. Feeling quite pleased with himself Harry shrunk it again, this time taking no more than four turns to do so, and popped it into his pocket. He gave Ron a grin and returned to his potions book.

'I think I'm going to like being a wizard'.

OOO

He couldn't see why everyone was making such a fuss, he just got sorted like everyone else. Once more Harry cursed his so called fame as he headed to the lion's table. He actually wanted to go to Hufflepuff, home of the sensible hardworking people and all that, but either the hat was getting senile after sorting for so many hundreds of years (can a hat get senile?) or the fates thought he was brave enough for Gryffindor. Bleh! But then, Hermione got into Gryffindor too and if she wasn't a Ravenclaw then no one was, so at least it wasn't just him. He wondered what the reaction would have been if he'd gone to Slytherin like the hat wanted (it was either the snakes or the lions, horrible hat). It wasn't as though Harry didn't like Slytherin, after all he did have the cunning for it, unlike Ron who seemed to hate everything snake related, and was as cunning as a…well a lion. It was just that the thought of being in the same dorm room as that overbearing, cocky, materialistic blonde brat really didn't sound appealing. Draco was rude and arrogant and a bully, very much like Dudley, and looked like someone who would want the latest whatever and wanted it now, very much like Dudley (he was starting to see a pattern there). All those flashy expensive clothes were really only saying one thing to Harry, the Malfoy family threw away money like it was going out of fashion. Who needed robes three times the price of normal ones when you were going to get them dirty and worn just the same (who needed robes in the first place, but that was a different argument entirely). If Draco was in a situation where he had to rely on the basic essentials, he probably wouldn't survive, and the thought of the blonde doing manual labour like patching his own clothes or washing his own dishes would probably make him take a temper tantrum (and most likely faint if it was anything harder). No, being spoilt was an abuse in its own right, it didn't prepare you for life. Didn't mean he had to think any better of the brat.

Then again, there was spoilt, and there was spoilt, and both the blonde and Ron were spoilt, just in different ways. It was ironic, and kinda funny, but Draco and the red head were quite similar, both prejudice, both materialistic (Harry had seen the way Ron eyed other students possessions with a hint of envy), both protected from the outside world by their parents, and both unwilling to put in the hard work to get by in life, Ron being lazy and Draco having money enough to last until his grandkids were old and wrinkly (of course the way the family were spending it Draco would be lucky to have any left by the time he hit old age, let alone his kids or grandkids). Harry had a feeling, from what he'd seen of the Ron's behaviour so far, that the red head's parents mollycoddled him a bit, or a lot, which really wasn't doing him any more favours than Draco's parents were doing for the blonde.

Harry's thoughts trailed off as food appeared on the table, he hadn't heard a single word of the Headmaster's opening speech. As he ate he planned for the next few days, since there weren't classes on a weekend. First he needed to familiarise himself with the castle's layout (which he felt could take years instead of days, but if he could at least work out where the library, great hall and his dorm room was then he could work the rest out at a later date). He also wanted to, upon finding the library, spend some time digging deep into books for transfiguration, charms, defence, history and herbology. And perhaps astrology, but from what he read in the book shop it seemed a bit behind that of muggle astronomy, he could probably get by with just a brief skim. He'd also briefly read, from Hogwarts: A History, that there were rooms in the castle filled almost completely with forgotten and abandoned items, something he was keen to look into to allow him to borrow for his classes.

'Hey Harry'.

'Hmm…oh sorry you'll be wanting your hat back. Thanks'.

Passing the dark skinned boy, a friend of Ron's older twin brothers, his hat back, Harry turned back to his meal.

'No problem Harry, happy to oblige'.

Lee and the twins seemed nice, Harry thought, their happy go lucky behaviour was contagious. They were worth keeping a friendship with.

'Wait, didn't you buy a hat Harry?'

He glanced in the girl's direction, she was the one who came in their compartment on the train asking about a toad.

'Nah, there wasn't much point, you'd use it once, maybe twice in your school lifetime'.

'But it was on the list!'

Harry rolled his eyes.

'A lot of things were on the list, and a lot of things weren't. I didn't get any cause I'd be useless at using them, but quills, ink and parchment weren't on the list, does that mean you didn't get any cause they weren't noted down?'

'That's not the point Harry! You need things on the list, otherwise they wouldn't BE on the list!'

Harry groaned, he really didn't want to get into an argument when all he wanted to do was finish his meal and sleep.

'Hermione, everything I own can fit into my trunk. I didn't get the deluxe model, or the super deluxe, and yet I still have absolutely everything I need. If I discover that I really really needed something, then I can place an order for it and ask my owl to deliver it to me. I don't need a hat cause it'll just lie in my trunk getting dusty, I didn't need the books cause the library has them stocked, with the exception of the potions book I got since I don't want to blow up my potions, and I certainly didn't need the telescope, or the scales, cause the school provides them. I got a cauldron, because unlike telescopes and scales, cauldrons can be melted and if we kept melting school cauldrons then they'd eventually run out. I was talked into getting the potions knife, cause I was warned about the dangers of cross contamination when brewing, and a set of vials since they can be used over and over, and I got the gloves cause I really like my hands the way they are thank you. I have black pens and notepads to take notes, and I've got thick jumpers, warm shoes and a jacket to wear in winter, no need for a cloak. The only reason I got the robes, was because they would protect my clothes from getting damaged. I'm excited to be learning magic, but that doesn't mean I'm going to change who I am and how I behave, and I like to have only the daily essentials'.

'But that's against the rules! They don't use pens and paper here they use parchment! And it's better you have your own things! I can't understand why you wouldn't even buy books, what about over the holidays?!'

Boy she was being persistent.

'Pens and paper work fine for me, if the teachers ask for parchment then I suppose I'll buy parchment, but I'm not buying quills and ink, and really they're just going to hand our homework back to us so why do I need to give them parchment in the first place? If they can read it then why should it matter? As for the book issue, I can take notes on what I need, or learn the copying spell and use the information that way. I can then use those notes over the summer. The potions book served a real purpose, what purpose would I have in carrying around several heavy books to class when you can just have a pad of notes, its daft!'

Hermione seemed to deflate a bit.

'Does…does everything you own really fit into a standard trunk?' she asked quietly, somewhat in disbelief.

'Yep, that way if I need to leave in a hurry, then I just go. I've got no treasures, no excess clothing, and very little in the way of other items. In fact, I could probably list everything out and it would take less than five minutes. I can earn money by using my skills in the neighbourhood, or even in the magical world, they would surely need someone to do manual labour. Hermione we all start with nothing, and when we die we're left with nothing. If there is an afterlife, which considering there are ghosts floating around makes me believe there is, then we'll have plenty of memories, but you don't take what you own with you when you die, it just lies there waiting to be passed on to the next person or rot away in some dreary corner. In place of my possessions I've got skills that I've learned as I've grown, those skills have done far more for me than some trinket sitting on a shelf. I know how to cook, and keep a garden, and sew, I can use certain electric tools and have a fair bit of woodwork knowledge. I've volunteered in shops, which has taught me a bit on how to categorize and sort out paperwork for stock, plus it's given me people skills. I've got a mental list of things I'd like to learn, and magic jumped to the top of that list when Hagrid first came to visit me with my letter. All of this, to me, is way better than the latest toy or a bookcase full of books'.

Hermione looked thoughtful, still somewhat really to argue her case, but at least she'd calmed and allowed him to eat.

'So what do you have in your trunk then?' one of the twins, who'd been listening in along with his identical sibling and Lee, asked.

'I have twenty pairs of boxers, seven t-shirts, three shirts, ten pairs of trouser, twenty pairs of socks, ten outer tops, five of them really warm, three black robes, a jacket, hat, gloves and scarf, a towel and two pairs of shoes making up the bulk of my trunk. Granted I'm wearing some of those things. The rest is made of notepads, a pencil case with pens, a pencil, rubber, ruler and sharpener, a calculator, two toothbrushes, toothpaste, a brush, some soap, shampoo, hand wipes and a roll of toilet roll, my coin purse, a water bottle, a small sewing kit, one set of cutlery, the dragon hide gloves, potions knife, vials, cauldron and book and some owl treats for Hedwig. Before I got my letter everything I owned went into a shopping bag and my school bag, both are also in my trunk. I made Hedwig a perch, but since I didn't need to bring it here I just left it at the Dursleys, and I've got my wand in a holster on my arm. The school letter's tucked away in one of the notepads, though I'm not really sure why I'm keeping it. Oh and I think I've still got some juice cartons and some chocolate spread left'.

'And all that fits into your trunk?!' Lee asked in amazement.

'Why do you have loo roll?!' the second twin exclaimed.

'I know it sound like a lot but really it's not. The standard trunk is rather large, and really you take out the clothes and the cauldron and there's very little in there. I bought a few more articles clothing and another pair of shoes before I came here cause I wouldn't be able to get into the muggle world for a while, so I'll be ok if something tears. I bought loo roll cause I wanted to be completely self reliant. I wanted to know that everything, or most everything that I used was things I'd bought with my own money. The roll's half done and what's left from a pack of two, that normally does me a week'.

'Harry I really don't think they'd let you use pens here' Hermione spoke, proving that she still had her mind on their previous argument.

'Why not? They've got ink just like quills and are way easier and cleaner to use, plus they're cheap. I stocked up on the stationary as well, just to be sure. Hermione I'm not saying the magical world is bad, it's brilliant, but there's no reason to make things difficult for yourself when there are far easier options there for you. I've been living off of most of what I've just listed for most of my life, adding in food and drink, and I'm perfectly happy with it'.

'You didn't list any toys or things like that Harry' Ron pointed out.

Harry shrugged.

'I'm not really a toy person, I mean sure educational toys are all fine and good, but you can learn those kinds of skills without them. There's a play park near my relative's house, and the library's not too far away. I'll sometimes draw pictures in one of my pads but I don't bother with colouring in, really I just sketch. My cousin Dudley always begged for the latest toy, and he usually broke it within days of getting it, which is such a waste. Why bother?'

'Don't you do anything fun?!' Ron exclaimed.

'Well sure, I like to play outdoors, climbing trees and making secret dens. In primary school I loved solving word and picture puzzles, and sure I did play with some of the toys there, but I never had the urge to own them. Just like with books, I like reading, and I'm pretty quick at picking up things, but I don't want row upon row of books in my room. And there really isn't much point in me having trinkets and collections if all they're going to do is lie on a shelf or in a box somewhere'.

'Guys shh! The headmaster is talking!' another red head hissed from up the table, and the discussion ended as they turned to the head table.

OOO

'Dangerous forests and blocked off corridors, what stupidity! This is supposed to be a school! What the heck is wrong with the magical world?! First that creepy Knockturn Alley and now this! What next, three headed dogs, giant snakes and deadly competitions?!'

He snorted to himself.

'Nah, surely even the magical world can't be that stupid'.

Could it?

He only hoped that the junk rooms he was looking for wouldn't be on that third floor corridor, he preferred being alive thank you. Harry yawned and grabbed his things, nipping into the bathroom to see to his nightly duties before crawling into bed. His roommates were still downstairs, still too hyped to go to bed, but Harry knew that he would need all the time he could to both find and search the library for his book list. Giving one last yawn he pulled the curtains shut and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry had asked some upper years about the materials needed for his classes, and he felt he had enough notes to get through the lessons. He'd already used the time wisely, both reading up on the material and practicing it, not in the same place of course the librarian wasn't keen on students using magic amongst her books.

Fishing a juice carton out he then shrunk his trunk and popped it in his pocket, returning to his notes. Harry had found several spells that he could use to live a more comfortable life. The levitation spell and the featherlight spell would be handy for all those times he needed to handle heavy bags of soil in his aunt's garden, and the warming spell would be excellent for chilly days. The repairing spell would be brilliant in general. The summoning spell was really handy to get things off high shelves, and the banishing spell would put them back. The packing spell could save time with his trunk, granted he could still pack it by hand, but if rushed for time it was a good shortcut. Being able to use the elements would be helpful as well, the water spell especially could be used for watering flowers. The unlocking spell would help if his relatives decided to lock him outside, like they had done quite a few times already. It would also unlock his new room door (which his uncle had put multiple locks on as if he were caging some sort of rabid animal) so he could get to the bathroom instead of using that horrible bucket the times his uncle locked him up for days on end.

He also found ways to guard your mind against mind reading (which he was horrified about, he didn't want people he didn't like knowing what he was thinking about them, such things were supposed to stay secret!) and made a note in capital underlined letters to practice until he could block anyone from seeing his private thoughts. Although, the idea of seeing into other people's minds would be kinda cool, but then he'd be a hypocrite, so that was a no go. Sigh.

There was so much useful magic he could learn, he really needed a way to break the trace on his wand so he could actually use it without getting into trouble.

Harry had decided that the idea of absorbing information from books would really help his space issue (he would work on the issue of technically stealing information at a later date), he just needed to find such a spell, or figure out how to create it. Creation would take years, the books were quite clear on that, so he could only hope a spell already existed.

The weekend passed and finally he started classes on magic.

And boy did he get in bother. Just about every teacher asked why he didn't have his books, why he was using paper instead of parchment, and some didn't even know what his pen was until he eventually had to show them. Thankfully it was the charms professor, really nice guy, and Harry was allowed to keep using his pen in place of a quill. Professor Flitwick even looked enlightened by the easy and blotch free way Harry was able to write.

Professor Snape, the potions teacher, wasn't so enthusiastic about his change of materials.

'Potter! What is that?!'

The yell startled Harry, and he looked up to find the man looming over him. Creepy. No wonder the upper years were terrified of him.

'This sir? It's a pen'.

'And why, pray tell, are you not using a quill?'

'I've never used a quill before, and since a pen uses ink and doesn't make nearly as much mess, I decided to use it instead'.

'I see. You believe yourself to be above the rules of this school' Snape sneered.

Harry frowned a bit.

'I didn't see any rule about using pens'.

He'd double checked to ensure he could use pen and paper without getting into trouble, and found there was indeed no rule against it. Didn't really stop the professors questioning him, nor did it stop Professor Snape snatching the pen out his hand and making a show of destroying it. Unfair!

'You will write with quill and ink, on parchment, just like everyone else Mr Potter! Ten points from Gryffindor for your ignorance!'

Harry looked at the mush that was his pen, glad he had more and wondering if he should charge the man for its destruction. A whole ten pence! But the rules were on his side and so he stood his ground. Points really didn't bother him, though from the groaning he knew he was going to get grief from his housemates after class.

'What's wrong Mr Potter? Too lazy to find a quill?'

The Slytherins sniggered but Harry just ignored them, he'd had years of practice from Dudley and his gang. Picking up his potions book he flicked to the chapter regarding properties and preparation and started to read.

'Ten points for your arrogance!' Snape snarled, making a grab for the book.

But Harry was faster, and whipped it away from the man's grasp.

'I know the material sir, I've read about how ingredients react with one another and how to properly prepare them, not that I'm saying I'm an expert. I can also see the blackboard very clearly and will be able to make the boil cure potion. The notes would have been for my benefit, but I can write the rest of them later'.

He was quite happy at being able to see the blackboard so clearly. Hagrid, when Harry mentioned his poor eyesight, had pointed him in the direction of an eye shop tucked away in the corner of the alley. It was expensive, but since he had the money in his trust vault he felt it was a worthwhile purchase. It meant he'd arrived at Hogwarts without the need for glasses.

The class had gasped at his actions, Gryffindors totally forgetting about the point loss, and Professor Snape seemed to get angrier with each word spoken.

'Arrogant, selfish layabout just like your father! He thought himself too important to learn as well! Ten more points for your cheek!'

When Harry just nodded it set the man off.

'GET OUT OF MY CLASS!'

Calmly closing his book and picking up his notepad, cauldron and knife Harry stood and left, fighting the urge to run screaming down the corridor. The man could make people wet themselves, Harry bet people already had! He had the lesson plan from the upper years, and the notes from the library and his book, he would just need to have a shot making the potion somewhere else, without scary men looking over his shoulder.

It took less than a day for him to be called to the Headmaster's office, and he declined a lemon drop while the old man gently berated him. Harry did at one point try to tell Professor Dumbledore of Professor Snape's actions, but the Headmaster didn't seem to listen, telling Harry that he needed to respect Professor Snape's orders. In fact, the man spoke as if Harry were a toddler taking a temper tantrum because an adult took away his toy, and even making out that Professor Snape was in the right by screaming at him and insulting him for no good reason!

He left that meeting feeling angry. The man was clearly a bully and yet the Headmaster appeared to be allowing it to happen! Again he thought, this was supposed to be a school! A teacher like Professor Snape would have been thrown out of a muggle school years ago with that kind of behaviour! And the Headmaster should be looking out for the students. This was not what he signed up for when he agreed to go to Hogwarts, and it had only been a couple of days!

Well there was no point fussing over it, although he was going to learn the repairing spell as soon as he could to save his remaining things from Professor Snape's wrath. And a shielding spell, he decided during his next potions class (which the man grudgingly allowed him into, even though Harry would have preferred to be anywhere but there). The Slytherins were hell bent on sabotaging the Gryffindor's cauldrons, and Professor Snape appeared to be allowing them to! Harry had only just saved his own cauldron with quick reflexes, and in turn got points taken for "attempting to sabotage Mr Malfoy's potion". It was pathetic, it really was. At least Harry didn't loose any more pens, although there were a few close calls.

At least he was enjoying his other classes, and once his teachers realised he was taking notes and doing his homework just like everyone else, they left him be. Flying class turned out to be quite fun, and for once Harry was actually thinking of buying something other than daily essentials. The decision was taken out his hands when Professor McGonagall saw him catching Neville's rememberall (stupid Draco with his stupid need to show off and insult and boast and annoy and…had he already said show off? Ooh my daddy taught me how to fly when I was a baby, and now I know everything there is to know about flying and you're stupid cause you've never flown in your life and thus don't know how to use a broom…stupid brat) and had him talk to Oliver about getting on the Quidditch team. She was also kind enough to buy him a broom, which Harry thought was pretty cool, but only after he discovered it could be shrunk to fit in his trunk. No point in excess baggage after all, Hedwig being the only (and obvious) exception, she was always flying in to say hello and nick a few strips of bacon, daft bird.

OOO

'TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!'

Trolls, twelve feet and one ton of magic resisting muscle, with brains the size of a pea (ok maybe a bit bigger but not much) usually with something large, like a tree trunk, that they use as a weapon. Eep!

Harry was almost out the great hall when he suddenly remembered the girls talking about Hermione being in the bathroom, and thus wouldn't know about the deadly beast wandering the halls.

He was going to punch Ron for that.

'Hermione! She doesn't know!'

And he was going to make sure the red head went with him, he caused the problem he can help fix it!

How was a mystery.

Thankfully, they were able to use the Troll's stupidity against it, with Harry distracting it (ok so he could admit jumping on it's head and ramming his wand up it's nose wasn't the best idea, Troll bogies aside, but really what did people expect from a scared eleven year old?!), Ron was able to get the club out it's hand and clobbered it over the head. Troll 0, Gryffindor 1, pretty wicked for a couple of frightened kids.

The teachers didn't find it so amusing, but the trio came out unscathed and that was all Harry cared about. He wasn't sure he'd make it back to the common room with his jelly legs, but in the end he managed to smile about it. Not very often kids took on a Troll and won.

Plus it got Hermione off his back since he technically saved her life. Though he wasn't sure what was worse, Hermione the nagging housemate, or Hermione the nagging friend.

Although if the Troll was scary, Harry's first quidditch match was downright terrifying. And damn that Oliver for making it worse with his getting knocked unconscious for a week story. Or was it a month? Or something in between. He couldn't remember, too busy trying not to faint to really listen. Something he had noticed about the game was how people seemed to depend almost entirely on a tiny golden ball. He couldn't work out why the snitch was in the game in the first place, it practically won a match on its own right. Couldn't they set a time limit and whichever team makes the most scores at the end wins? Crazy magical world adding on excess and unneeded baggage.

Harry was really only here for the flying, so when he spotted the flash of gold he almost didn't bother going for it. But with a sigh he pushed himself forward, Oliver wouldn't be happy if he didn't at least try to catch the silly ball.

He was quite happy to go at his own pace, but when the Slytherin seeker deliberately flew into him, it was on!

Eyed narrowed Harry leaned forward on the broom, making himself as streamlined as possible, and rocketed forward like a bullet, his sights on that snitch. Behind him he heard the Slytherin seeker growl and try to catch up, but Harry was through letting the Slytherins get away with murder. He zigzagged back and forth, blocking the jerk, then swerved sharply to the left and left the guy bewildered in the dust. Oh he knew he'd just went the opposite direction from the snitch, but he was going to show them he was no pushover.

'And Harry Potter goes in the opposite direction! Harry what are you doing?!' Lee screamed into the mic.

Smirking Harry suddenly pulled his broom upwards, and the crowd watched stunned as he performed one of the fastest loop de loops they'd ever seen, shooting down and swiping the snitch right out from under the gobsmacked Slytherin's fingertips, executing a twisting motion to slow his broom. Grinning Harry held up the little golden ball. Take that snakes!

'He's got it! Harry's got the snitch! That was incredible! I've never seen that move, and from such a distance! He stole the snitch right out from Higg's grasp! One hundred and fifty points to Gryffindor! And Gryffindor wins!'

The stands were roaring as the teams landed, Harry had but a moment to orientate himself before he was swept up to ride on Oliver's shoulders.

'HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!' the team chanted as he was carried to the changing rooms.

He could get used to this, perhaps quidditch wasn't so bad after all.

OOO

A Dragon. A castle sized (when it grew up according to Ron), fire breathing, flesh eating Dragon. Harry was right, the magical world was mad.

'C'mere 'arry, I've got sometin te show yer'.

No, no he didn't want to see any more blood thirsty animals, thank you.

Hagrid never gave him the choice, leaving Hermione and Ron with the Dragon while he rummaged through a cupboard.

Please don't be a giant spider, please don't be a giant spider, please don't be a…

'A book?'

'I know you don't like a lot of stuff 'arry, but I thought you could use some pictures of yer parents. You can say it's an early Christmas present. I tried not to make the album too big, so's it can fit in yer trunk'.

Slowly Harry lifted the book out of the man's hands, flipping to the first page. A handsome man with a cheeky grin had his arm round a most beautiful woman, and in her arms lay a tiny baby boy.

'Harry, are you ok?' Hermione asked.

'Yeah! Yeah I'm fine. Just got something in my eye'.

He wiped away the tear and smiled at Hagrid.

'Ok, this I don't mind keeping. Thank you'.

'Aww 'arry!'

'ACK! HAGRID…! CAN'T…BREATHE…!'

OOO

Yawning Harry stretched and stumbled out of bed, pushing Scabbers off his pillow (perverted rat, he was sure of it) and wondering why in god's name Ron was yelling for him.

'Harry come on! We've got presents to open!'

He blinked.

'I have presents?'

Ron rolled his eyes and pulled his friend over, sitting crossed legged and grabbing the first box with his name on it, tearing the paper in a frenzy of excitement.

'Come on Harry, open them and see what you've got!'

Wincing Harry sat and picked up the first box. He really didn't want anything, something he was actually grateful to the Dursleys for (since the most they'd ever got him was a bent coat hanger, which was used to pick his cupboard lock so he could sneak food). But he opened his gifts anyway, and found to his delight that those who had given him something had done it practically, well mostly. Ron's mother made him a jumper, which was nice and warm and ideal since someone (he suspected Draco as he'd been hit in the back, had he mentioned how much he hated the brat?) had practically destroyed one of his winter tops. Mrs Weasley also gave him some toffee, which he could live with if he just shared most of it with others. Hermione had a week ago asked to borrow Hedwig, which was fine since the daft owl was dying for a good fly, and with the link to her parents open she'd got Harry some more pens and notepads, and also a nice watch, since he did sometimes loose track of time. And Ron got him a rather horrid orange poster of the red head's favourite quidditch players. Harry was tempted to send it to the Dursleys, but in the end figured it wasn't too big a possession and could easily fit in his trunk, deep deep down in his trunk.

He also got a strange cloak from a mysterious sender, a cloak that made him invisible. Had it been a normal cloak he would have been inclined to sell it, but one that made him invisible, now that was a handy thing to have, especially since the book with the information absorbing spell, and one that could hopefully see to the wand trace, were both in the restricted section. At least according to the twins, who had snuck in there more times to count and had already took the trace off their wands, and of course Lee's wand as well. And perhaps Harry could even hunt down a book to help him find the elusive junk room hidden away somewhere in the castle. He really couldn't understand why a junk room was hidden in the first place.

'Cool! Can you imagine what we could do with an invisibility cloak?!'

Harry fought the urge to groan. He would need to include Ron in his exploration of the restricted section otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. He pretended not to see the hint of envy in the red head's eyes as he gazed at the cloak, he wasn't giving Ron the satisfaction of starting an argument over material possessions (and he knew the red head would just love to tell him how lucky he was to have so much money in his vault and how crazy he was for not wanting to spend it).

Thankfully when Harry mentioned it to the red head, the thought of sneaking to the library of all places put Ron off, and Harry was able to make the trip a few days later. And it must have been his lucky day, because the absorption spell was just a couple of rows down from the trace spell (the twins had told him which shelf the book was on, they hadn't told him about the books that screamed at you when you opened them though, crazy magical world).

Of course his luck couldn't hold out forever, and part way through practicing the wording for the trace spell he overheard voices and needed to hurry out the library before he was discovered. He had however taken notes, so all wasn't completely lost. He spotted Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell as he left, the pair talking about something in the third floor corridor. Harry remembered seeing Professor Snape with a limp after the Troll incident, so obviously the Headmaster wasn't kidding when he said there was something dangerous up there, if the man had indeed been up there that day. Harry left the subject well alone, preferring to pretend he never heard a thing, and moved swiftly back to his dorm room. As he passed an abandoned classroom a flash of light caught his eye. Pausing he about turned and pushed the door open a bit, curiosity getting the better of him (not very often that happened, curse his new found ability to see gold flashes and think snitch!) His interest died fast. A mirror, a large elaborate gold mirror. Muttering about crazy people with their crazy need for useless expensive junk Harry left without even taking a peek. After all it was just a mirror.


	5. Chapter 5

'Left corridor on the seventh floor, opposite the tapestry of the dancing Trolls, who'd want to teach Trolls to dance?!'

Harry eyed the blank wall. The book in his hand was dug out from the furthest corner of the restricted section, and he only dug it out because it had "Secrets of Hogwarts" on the title and he hoped it would tell him about the junk room. Luckily it did.

'Ok, the book says I need to pace and think about what I want. Seems easy enough'.

He walked back and forth, the urge to find the junk room in his mind. On his third pace a door just bled out the stone, and a little cautiously he cracked it open and peeked inside, prepared to flee to his dorm room and hide under the bed if something jumped out at him (there was nothing wrong with being a little cautious). Thankfully Professor Snape's eviler brother didn't jump out at him (now wasn't that a terrifying thought?!) but if someone wanted lots of stuff, then this was the room for them, the place was full from top to bottom! Smiling Harry entered, sure he could find plenty of equipment he could borrow for his school years.

'Still weird why it was hidden' he mused, idly picking random things up to examine.

Spotting stuff he could use he headed over and gathered it into a random trunk that someone either abandoned or forgot, although how someone could forget a whole trunk was beyond him. More likely the owner got a new one and dumped the old. Still, it worked for Harry, and since none of the stuff belonged to him he wasn't bothered about the extra weight. Shrinking the trunk he slipped it into his pocked and decided to look around a bit longer, goodness knows what he could uncover that the school could actually use rather than it gathering dust in a secret room.

It was as he was exploring that he stumbled into a pile of stuff and sent the thing on top smashing onto the ground. He hadn't the foggiest how he managed to stumble, there was nothing in his path, his laces were tied tight and he was only walking.

'Ahh! I didn't mean that! Oh what do I do?!'

He knelt to pick up the pieces of what was once an elaborate statue. Just because he didn't feel the need to own such an item, didn't mean he wanted to break something belonging to someone else, especially when it looked really expensive. He chewed his lip when he realised most of the pieces were far too small to use a standard repair spell on, plus some of the finer pieces were hard to see lying in the remains of the pile of junk.

'I wonder if there's an extract and put together spell?!' he said with a little panic.

And just at that a book appeared in front of him. It was old, really old, almost falling apart, but it was held open at a page, and when Harry looked he immediately found a spell, well two but they could be done one after another in a kind of chant, that should put the statue together.

'Ok, ok calm down, this should work, I just need to practice the incantation and the wand movements'.

It was harder than the spells he'd already learned, but he supposed it wasn't really magic for a first year judging by the book. Nevertheless, he didn't want to leave the statue broken.

'Alright, here goes'.

Taking a breath Harry practiced the wand movements, over and over, he was pretty sure he took almost thirty minutes on them, then once he was happy he'd got them as right as he could he began to practice the spells, and forty minutes later he felt he was ready to try. The book said that the spells needed to be spoken more than once, and that the amount depended on the pieces. There were seven large pieces, the rest being far too small, Harry only hoped that would work. He spoke the spells once more to get them right in his head, then stood and lifted his wand.

'Extracto restoreatus, extracto restoreatus, extracto restoreatus, Extracto Restoreatus, Extracto Restoreatus, Extracto Restoreatus, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS!'

He didn't think it would work the first time he tried it, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out where the sudden wind came from. Maybe there was a window open, it was a pretty breezy day today. He thought he should try the chant again, just to be sure.

'Extracto restoreatus, extracto restoreatus, extracto restoreatus, Extracto Restoreatus, Extracto Restoreatus, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS!'

Ok now that wind was NOT coming from outside, and the distraction it caused prevented Harry from seeing a fancy looking tiara start to float up from a box to his left. Harry huddled down as the icy chill whipped round him, idly noting that the statue STILL hadn't been repaired. Well the book did say he might need to repeat himself if he wanted it to be stronger, maybe the wind was part of the magic, though if it was it seemed like a pretty extreme reaction for a simple repair. But the wind wasn't doing anything, besides whipping around him, so perhaps he needed to chant again, like the book mentioned.

'EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS, EXTRACTO RESTOREATUS!'

His scar suddenly exploded in pain, and Harry collapsed screaming, clutching his head. In his agony, he didn't notice the black shadow seeping out the bloody lightning bolt, nor did he notice similar shadows being pulled into the room, and one coming from the tiara. After a while, he blacked out, and thus completely missed the banshee like wails and the explosion that rocked the castle as a once evil wizard was blasted into the afterlife.

It was quite amazing the powers one had and what one can do when they don't even realise they're doing it.

OOO

Up in the Headmaster's office Albus Dumbledore gripped his desk tightly as the castle shook.

'Fawkes what have I told you about playing with the powers of the universe?!'

The Phoenix squawked in protest, but as usual he was ignored as the man rushed out the office. Huffing the bird ruffled his feathers and flew out the window, he got blamed for everything round here, just because he fooled around with the cosmos that ONE time and hit the replay button on life.

The sorting hat just laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed.

'Ah my Lady, up to mischief again!'

OOO

'Amelia! Amelia you need to see this!'

Madam Bones jerked up as Kingsley Shacklebolt rushed into her office.

'What's wrong?!'

He grinned.

'Oh you're going to love this! Not five minutes ago people left right and centre all over Britain started clutching their left arm and collapsing in pain!'

She jumped up, following him out the door.

'You don't think…?!'

'Oh I'm sure of it! Each and every one of them served You-Know-Who, and for some reason those dark marks are going haywire! And I don't mean in a way that suggests he's coming back either!'

Amelia had long since been under the notion that the Dark Lord wasn't gone for good, something she shared with her most trusted aurors. The lack of body and many other factors led to this suspicion, and to hear that Deatheaters were reacting in such a manner only confirmed her thoughts. The pair entered the lobby where people were being laid out on stretchers. Going on a hunch she strode over to one Lucius Malfoy, who had just popped out for an innocent visit to the Minister, and yanked back his left sleeve. The man didn't put up much of a fight, and there, on his wrist, was a rapidly fading dark mark.

'Auror Shacklebolt I want each and every person who reacted in this way to be taken to a ministry cell. Bring in every auror we have! We're going to be busy for a while'.

'Yes Ma'am!' and off he rushed to gather reinforcement.

Amelia herself hunted down the Minister, they were going to have a nice long chat about the use of veritaserum on each and every person who reacted that day. She'd been waiting a long time for this moment.

OOO

Sirius wasn't sure what had just happened. One minute he was lying half asleep in his cell, the next he was being dragged forward to appear on trial. The reason behind this sudden change in accommodation appeared to have something to do with Deatheaters around the country grabbing their arms and collapsing in pain, and in doing so forced the Minister (more like Madam Bones forced the Minister) to call for trials for all of Voldemort's followers, even those in prison, just to be on the safe side. After being told this, and handed a decent set of clothes (those in the stands didn't want smelly prisoners sharing their space) and a good meal for the first time in years (well he counted soup and bread better than whatever it was they'd been feeding him in Azkaban), Sirius found himself in front of the Wizengamot. As an Auror approached to administer the truth serum, he finally found his voice.

'About bloody time people!'

OOO

When Harry woke it was to throbbing pain. Groaning he heaved himself to his feet, or at least to his knees, finding his wand from where he'd dropped it, thankfully not broken. He thanked the heavens that the potions shop keeper had convinced him to buy a set of vials, vials that he'd just recently filled with a pain relief potion. He downed one, too exhausted to even make a face at the taste, and fished out his wet wipes to remove the blood dripping down from his scar.

'What the heck happened?! Did a shard catch me?!'

He glanced at the statue, and it was STILL in pieces.

'OH COME ON!'

There was no way he was trying that again, heck he was too exhausted to even bother with a repair spell. It was like his whole body was drained, and his hand looked a little burnt, something he just couldn't explain, like his bleeding scar. He would need to return at one point and try to fix the statue again, but not using that god awful spell in the book!

Staggering a bit, Harry managed to bring himself to his feet and left the room, heading towards the Gryffindor common room. He would have gone to Madam Pomfrey, but really all he wanted was sleep and she'd probably fuss over him and ask him questions. Nurses tended to do that.

It wasn't until the next day that he realised just how big a thing his little repair spell was. Coming down to breakfast, after another pain potion and plenty of rest, he was accosted by Ron and Hermione.

'Harry where were you?!'

'There was this huge bang yesterday! The whole castle shook!'

'Really?' he asked, feeling a little guilty.

'Yeah, none of the teachers could figure out where it came from!'

'They had us all return to our common rooms, but you weren't there!'

He gulped slightly under Hermione's glare.

'Sorry, I was exploring. I did feel something, and it was pretty big…'

Understatement of the century.

'But I hadn't realised it was that bad. Is everyone ok?'

'Everyone's fine' Ron assured him.

'No Ronald not everyone!' Hermione huffed.

'Professor Quirrell was sent to St Mungo's. We don't really know what happened to him, but some of the students said he just started screaming and collapsed. And Professor Snape was affected as well, though not as badly as Professor Quirrell. He's in the hospital wing' she then explained.

'Oh…I hope they're ok' Harry said quietly, and he really did mean it, even if Professor Snape hated him, and Professor Quirrell was a horrible teacher. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone, he was just trying to fix something that was broken.

The hall hushed as the Headmaster stood.

'I'm sure rumours are running rife over the strange occurrence heard and felt last night. Unfortunately I am unable to give you any answers….'

The man wasn't going to tell his students his Phoenix did it, it would ruin his reputation.

'The staff have checked the school from top to bottom and have found no sign of danger, I assure you the school is perfectly safe…'

Well now it was, since he didn't need to have things guarding the stone. Well at least now he could be rid of the mirror, since young Harry hadn't seemed at all interested in it. He couldn't figure out why, it was such a lovely thing, always showing him surrounded by socks and lemon drops.

'As most of you may know, Professor Quirrell will be unable to teach any longer, therefore the rest of the staff will take shifts to cover his position, and next year there will be a new defense against the dark arts professor….'

He really hated interviewing people, it took so long and there was so much paperwork. That was why he'd been picking the first person to walk through the door ever since they discovered the curse on the position. He supposed he could let Severus have the job, but then he'd have to find a potions professor and they were even harder to come by! Being a Headmaster was a real pain sometimes. At least he had his lemon drops.

'As for Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey assures me that he will recover within the next few days, so I shall cover his classes for the time being…'

The man's mark had gone nuts, then thankfully calmed down. Albus didn't know what to make of it, but the first thing he would do was find a horcruxe or two and see if they were still active. And then he'd contemplate over the issue with some lemon drops.

'I know many of you will have had a terrific scare from all this, therefore I have decided to cancel classes for the day, to allow you to recover. Anyone who requires a calming potion please see Madam Pomfrey, and anyone who needs to talk can come to any member of staff. I'm sorry I haven't got the answers you want, I can only hope that this has not damaged your experience at Hogwarts. Please, return to your meal'.

Had he mentioned how much he enjoyed a nice lemon drop? It was a pity the others didn't share his fondness for the sweets.

'Yes! No classes!'

'Ronald Weasley! That's a horrible thing to say when two members of staff were hurt!'

The red head held up his hands with a glare.

'Hey they're not the only ones, I found poor Scabbers dead when I woke up!'

'Sorry Ron, he was pretty cool, even if he was lazy' Harry offered, swallowing his first response which was to send a cry of gratitude to the heavens. Ruddy perverted rat always sneaking into his bed! He didn't know how Ron coped with the thing curling up next to his face. Didn't rats pee everywhere? Bleh!

His friend grinned.

'Yeah, he lived a good long life. I don't think he suffered, I think it was just old age'.

Hearing about his deceased familiar had calmed Hermione and she offered him her condolences. Slowly talk moved onto other matters.

'Hey Harry?'

'Yeah Lee?'

'Think, if we gave you some money, you could get us some of those pens and notepads?'

Harry grinned.

'Sure! They really don't cost much, a galleon would get five packs of ten pens or five packs of four notepads'.

'Hey that's really cheap!'

'If you could do that you'd be the bestest pal ever!'

Harry laughed at the twins antics, agreeing to buy up as many pens and notepads as he could. Others who had overheard also asked about things like calculators, and between Harry and others who were familiar with the muggle world they were able to take a fair sized order. His trunk would be crammed full come the next school year, but since it was for others, he didn't mind, since he wasn't coming back with it. He wondered how his relatives would cope with a super cool magical yielding Harry Potter come the summer. The first thing he'd do is take out all that junk from his room (Duddykins' toy room), and dump it into Dudley's bedroom, ha!

Lost in his musing, he was unaware of the slight shift in the dynamics of the world around him.

Something as small as a few students deciding to try pens over quills, would in turn make other magical raised want to see what was so special about the things, and realise that they were much easier to use than quills, which would then make them curious about other things, and that would lead them to look for other ways to make their lives easier, and make them curious about the other cultures they live alongside. Pens and calculators would lead to electric lights and computers (which would make people realise that magic and technology worked fine together, and why was it that they'd ever thought otherwise), and then to planes and even space ships (the idea of muggles walking on the moon fascinated just about everyone who'd heard of the incredible feat, and of course they wanted to copy it for themselves), and slowly but surely the magical world would realise just how intelligent and ahead of them the non magical world was, and adapt to match. This in turn would make them far more aware of other beings in the world, and how much everyone could learn from each other, leading to better acceptance of beings like Goblins and Centaurs. Sure, there would be protests, fighting, even death over the change, but overall the Wizard population would be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age, until even the more traditional purebloods would understand that there is more to life than magic, and start telling their children and their children's children that they agreed with the change all along (credit hogs) and that acceptance and tolerance was their way of life.

And thus, without even trying, or realising it, Harry Potter began something that would rock the wizarding world right to their core.

And for all of you who thought this was far too easy, that it should have been more drawn out with epic battles and adventures…well, no one ever told Harry he had to be the hero of the story, and if they had, he probably wouldn't have bothered to listen.

OOO

Lady Hogwarts was quite pleased with herself, all the child needed was a little push in the right direction, and since the headmaster was becoming senile (it must be the lemon drops) and not lifting a finger until "the time was right", she was quite happy to give Harry that push. The destruction of a rare vase was more than worth the price of the health and welfare of the world.


End file.
